The Guardian of Stars
by DoctorWhoXX
Summary: When you're first memory is being shot at on a frozen planet, and you're being helped by a teenager wearing a mullet, what exactly should you do? For Jared, the decision was simple; stick with the mullet guy. Immediately after, he's forced into an intergalactic war, and must pilot one of the Six Voltron Lions (Not a very good summary, but I've never been good at them).
1. The Rise of Voltron

**A/N: Hello everyone, this is DoctorWhoXX. Just binge watched Voltron Season 2, and, in a few, simple, words, HOLY FREAKING HELL, IT WAS AWESOME! So, I've decided to write this story. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **When it comes to my OC, imagine him as a version of MCU Loki, but in his late teens, voiced by Josh Hartnett, and as for the White Lion, imagine her as a more robotic version of Grimmjow, Pre-Arrancar, or, a combination of the Stalker and Ravager from Horizon Zero Dawn.**

"Talking" _"Alien Language/Radio"/Flashback_ _ **Location/Title**_ **SOUND EFFECT**

 _ **The Rise of Voltron**_

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _ **Ancient Ice Planet**_

"Why did I have to be the one to come here?" Keith groaned as he ground through the large piles of snow, struggling to stay warm in the middle of the storm. As he kept trudging forward, he thought back to how he got in this mess.

" _Keith, you stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it," Keith nodded as Shiro put his hand on the ex-cadet's shoulder. Then, Allura spoke up._

" _Actually, Keith, I have something else you can do in the meantime," At the group's confused looks, the Altean Princess rotated the universal hologram, until a small planet appeared in front of Keith. The planet had a small hologram of a white lion beside it. "I need you to locate the White Lion."_

" _Wait, there are SIX Lions? I thought there were only five," Asked Lance. Allura shook her head._

" _No. The White Lion is the smallest, and most maneuverable of the Lions, and requires a Paladin willing to be the logical core of Voltron, thinking out actions, before taking them," She replied. Then, Keith spoke up._

" _Wait, why should I go look for the White Lion? Even if I find it, I won't be able to pilot it," Replied the Red Paladin. Allura nodded._

" _Maybe so, but I really just need you to ascertain its condition, and whether or not it's fallen into the Galra's hands. Besides, I find it unlikely that five of the six Voltron Paladins were found simultaneously. I believe we will find the White Paladin soon."_

"Oof!" Keith cried out as he stumbled down a snow covered hill, thankfully without breaking anything. He groaned as he got back up, and looked around for the scanner Allura had given him. Finding it quickly, Keith noticed something as he picked it up. He was right on top of the White Lion. The Red Paladin looked forward, and saw a massive cavern in front of him. He smiled. "Finally."

As Keith walked forward, he saw something in the snow. Once he got closer, he saw that it was person, with purple hair, wearing a black coat, with white lining. Narrowing his eyes, Keith walked up to the figure, and knelt down.

"Hey, are you ok?"

 **CRACK**

Keith barely ducked, when a laser blast destroyed the snow he was next to, forcing him to run to the cover of the cavern, dodging lasers the entire way. Once he managed to get to cover, Keith looked back out, and saw the person still lying there, seemingly unconscious. Groaning, Keith ran back out, and managed to grab the figure, and struggled to run back, relying on his infamous instincts to dodge the continuous laser fire. Reaching the cavern once again, the Red Paladin placed the now revealed male leaning against the wall. However, as soon as he did, white markings began glowing along the cavern's walls. Keith looked around in shock.

"No way," He muttered. As he looked around, Keith heard the man muttering and groaning, one word sticking out.

"…Jared…" The man muttered. Soon afterwards, he began to open his eyes, revealing them to silver, with purple inside the pupils. After a short moment, his eyes shot up, and the man bolted forward, grabbing Keith's arm, and slamming him into the cavern wall. "What is this? Where am I?" A moment later, he faltered, and let go of the Red Paladin, and began to walk back. "Who, who am I?"

In his daze, he didn't notice he had walked out of the cavern's protection, and, if Keith hadn't just pushed him to the ground, would've been killed by a laser. The ex-cadet looked down at the man.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but that can wait! Right now, we have to get out of here!" With that, Keith grabbed him by the arm, and began to pull the man down deeper into the cavern.

"You don't need to pull my arm; I can run on my own!" The man protested, ripping his arm out of Keith's grip. The duo ran forward, avoiding laser fire the entire time. The deeper they ran into the cave; the less fire they were attacked with. Eventually, after about five minutes of running and dodging, the laser fire stopped, and the two Paladins were allowed to catch their breath. Keith looked at his "partner", finally taking a look at his uniform. The amnesiac was slightly shorter than Keith himself, and wore a black ankle length overcoat, a dark green pair of gloves, a dark red shirt that was similar to Coran's, light blue pants, and an off angle yellow belt. After raising an eyebrow at the man's, colorful, attire, Keith turned back at the entrance in confusion.

"Why aren't they following us? I mean, it's not like this cave is a labyrinth," He muttered. The man sighed, taking a calming breath.

"Who knows, maybe they see it as sacred ground," He replied. Keith turned to him.

"So, you don't remember who you are, not even your name?" Keith asked. The man shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing," He said. Keith put his hand to his chin.

"Well, before you woke up, I heard you mutter Jared, so, that gives us a starting point, at least," He muttered, turning to the amnesiac. The man looked down, clearly in thought.

"I must admit, the name sounds familiar. I don't know if it's mine, or someone else's, but it's all I have right now," With that decision, the now named Jared looked around their location in the cave. "Is it just me, or has the cave become more like ice, the deeper we've gone in."

Looking around, Keith couldn't help but agree. While the ground was still dirt, almost every other surface was covered in ice. Looking forward, Keith found the only way to go, was forward.

"Well, looks like we have to go this way," He said. With that, the Red Paladin started walking in that direction. Jared began to follow him, and yet, not long after he did, Jared began to hear something in his head. Turning back, the White Paladin felt like they were going in the wrong direction. As the feeling intensified, Jared narrowed his eyes. Keith, finally looking back, started to get confused. "Hey, are you ok?"

Jared turned back to Keith, and walked up to him. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"Are… you ok?" Instead of responding, Jared simply grabbed Keith's shoulder, and spun him around. "Whoa, hey!"

"I need your knife," Said the White Paladin. Grabbing it, he walked over to a frozen over wall, leaving Keith still flabbergasted. Placing the knife in a reverse grip, Jared began to stab into the ice. Sighing, and remembering what happened with Lance and the Blue Lion, Keith decided to trust the amnesiac's instincts. After about three minutes of Jared continuing this process, Keith was beginning to doubt if Jared actually WAS the White Paladin. Until, after a good, strong stab into the ice, a massive cloud of steam was released, and the ice began to glow white. Covering their faces from the frozen cloud, both Paladins waited until the cloud dissipated. After a small moment, the two men lowered their arms, and saw that the ice opened up to another passage way.

"Well, looks like I was wrong about which way to go," Said Keith.

"Gee, you think?" Jared replied, earning him a small glare from the fellow Paladin.

"Come on, let's see where this leads."

With that, the two teens began to walk into the passage, and soon, the walls began to glow with white markings. Pausing, Jared took a moment to look at the different markings, and seemed to be lost in thought, before Keith grabbed his shoulder.

"You ok?" Keith asked. Nodding, Jared began to walk forward again, until the passage opened up, to a truly monstrous cavern, with an icy ceiling. Looking forward, Jared's eyes widened in surprise, at the reason the cavern was so massive. In the center, there stood the White Lion. She looked like she was at least 5 _gornoshes_ tall, and as long as a blitzball field. However, her most unique feature was her mouth. It seemed to have chainsaw like teeth, and he could almost see a split in the middle of her jaw. He couldn't explain it, but Jared felt like he had found someone that had been missing for years. As he walked up to the massive silver force field, Jared could almost feel the Lions eyes on him. He reached the Lion, and, as he put his hand upon the field, it disappeared, and Jared saw the flash of six Lions, and the great soldier that they create. At the end, Jared recoiled slightly, and shook his head as the images faded. Looking up, the White Paladin saw his Lion lower her head, and open her mouth to allow him in. As he walked in, Jared reached the cockpit as if it was second nature, and, after looking around in wonder, sat in the pilots' seat. "I hope you weren't planning to leave without me."

Turning in shock, Jared relaxed as he saw that it was Keith who spoke. Releasing a calming breath, Jared smiled at the fellow Paladin.

"Sorry, I forgot you were here," Jared replied. Turning back to the pilots' seat, Jared looked around for a way to move it forward, and closer to the console. Not seeing one, he frowned, and leaned back into the seat. Suddenly the seat shot forward, and Jared had to grab the bottom edged to hold his balance. Once it stopped, he looked around. "Huh."

Soon, the screen cleared away to show the cavern that they were occupying, and the console lit up with dozens of screens, all with a distinct white and silver glow. Grabbing the controls, Jared tested their response time, and was pleased with the ease and sensitivity that the Lion responded with. Jared maneuvered White into a crouching position, and turned to Keith.

"You may want to hold onto something," He said, smiling in a rather, feral, manner, revealing his fanged frontal incisors. Slightly creeped out, Keith got a strong grip on the seat. With that, Jared gunned the pedals.

 **CRASH**

The White Lion pounced upward, and shattered the frozen roof, flying into the sky. Jared decided to test White's maneuverability in the air, and was even more pleased than before, performing twists and turns around the air. Hearing Keith struggle to hold on, Jared dropped his smile slightly, and pressed a button on the console. Suddenly, Keith felt like he was back on stable ground. He looked at Jared in confusion.

"What did you do?" He asked. Jared turned to him.

"I turned on the gravity stabilizer. Now, no matter how bumpy the ride is, we'll be able to stay upright," Replied the White Paladin. "You didn't know about that?"

Keith shook his head, and Jared hmm'd. After having Keith explain where to go, Jared flew towards the Red Paladins pod, and landed down in the snow.

"Give me a minute, and I'll get the pod so we can get out of here and head back to the Castle," Explained the Red Paladin.

"What exactly is this, Castle, anyway?" Jared wondered. Before Keith could speak up, Jared interrupted him. "Tell me once you're inside the pod. It's more efficient to explain it while we're on our way there."

Keith looked at him strangely, and Jared shrugged.

"I like efficiency," Said Jared. Keith shrugged in response himself, and set out for the pod. As he did, Jared waited in the White Lion, and tried to think of why his memories were missing. It was likely because of some form of trauma, either physical, emotional, or both, but without any resources to search, figuring out could be next to impossible. And it's not like the White Lion would have any information. A few minutes later, Keith's face appeared on screen.

" _Ok, I'm in the pod, can you hear me?"_

"Yes. Now, let's get going," Jared replied. As he waited for Keith to get the pod up and running, Jared did the same with White. After both Paladins were ready, the set off into the sky, towards the giant blue wormhole in the open space. Jared was almost there; when-

 **BOOM**

"Gugh!" Jared groaned as he attempted to recover from the blast that hit the Lion. Once he did, he turned around, and saw a small fleet of ships, apparently being led by one larger ship in the center of the fleet. Keith's face showed up again.

" _Are you alright, Jared?"_ He asked. Jared growled subtly, while nodding. Suddenly, the White Lion received another hail from the lead ship. Narrowing his eyes, Jared accepted the hail, and a red skinned Unilu pirate showed up on the screen.

" _Hello, my boy. I'm Captain Prasis,"_ Spoke the pirate. _"I noticed that fancy ship you're flying, and, I would like to have it, if you don't mind. I could tra-"_

"No." Jared wasn't going to give up White to anyone. She was HIS Lion. The Paladin heard an approving growl in his head, and smiled. At Jared's response, Prasis narrowed his eyes.

" _You may want to rethink that stance, child. We have you outnumbered, and outgunned,"_ Threatened the Unilu. Jared smirked, until Keith spoke up.

" _Hang on Jared, you don't need to fight these guys, we can just go through the wormhole,"_ Said Keith. Jared turned to him.

"Maybe so, but I still need to test the White Lion's weapons," With that, Jared gunned the pedals, shocking both his fellow Paladin, and the Unilu pirate. Prasis growled.

 _"You'll regret this,"_ With that, the pirate cut the transmission. Immediately after, the fleet moved into an attack formation; that was surprisingly refined for pirates. They tried to surround him, but Jared took full advantage of White's reflexes and maneuverability, dodging every blast of laser fire that the pirates fired at him, often forcing them to hit each other. He began to fly at the lead ship, and move to disable it with his claws. Before he did, however, another screen popped up, and it was of a woman with long white hair.

" _Paladins, please hurry back! I can't hold the wormholes much longer."_ She said. Then Keith, who had been dodging fire himself, showed up on screen.

" _Jared, we need to leave. If we don't, we'll be stuck here,"_ He said. Jared nodded, and pulled back from his assault on Prasis's vessel. After gaining enough distance from the pirate fleet, Jared and Keith finally entered the wormhole.

 _ **Space above Arus**_

As they exited from the other side, Jared saw two more wormholes, each with a Lion, and one with another pod. Suddenly, five screens appeared on his dashboard, two on each side, and one on the bottom. The Lions and pods each had one pilot, with Keith and a thin dark-skinned boy on the top and bottom of the right side, an older man with white and black hair in the center, and a young girl and larger boy on the left. The thin boy looked at Jared in shock.

" _Wait, who's this guy? And how can he pilot a Lion?"_ Said the boy. Jared was about to respond, when the older man did it for him.

" _Calm down Lance. We can talk with our new Paladin once we get to the Castle,"_ From how the now named Lance quieted down, it was clear that the older man was the leader, if only the senior officer. After that brief spat, Jared raised an eyebrow at the larger boy, as he seemed to be about to throw up.

"Are, you ok?" He asked. The girl pushed her glasses up her face.

" _Don't worry about Hunk. He just gets seasick, and airsick,"_ She looked thoughtful for a moment. _"Actually, any form of transportation gets him sick."_

Jared looked out the screen, and saw that the Yellow Lion was indeed spinning. Then he turned to Hunk.

"There should be a button on the lower right side of your console. It will stabilize your cockpit, so you don't fly around as much," Explained the amnesiac Paladin. Everyone stared at him as Hunk followed his instructions, causing Jared to feel a little uncomfortable. "…What?"

" _How do you know all this stuff?"_ Lance asked. Jared shrugged.

"White tells me," He replied. The older man then spoke up.

" _Let's all head to the Castle. Maybe Allura has found out where the Red Lion is for you, Keith."_

 _ **Castle of Lions, Control Room**_

After docking the White Lion in its personal hangar, Jared arrived in the Control Room, where Keith, the young girl, and the older man had already arrived. The white haired woman was standing in the center of the room, flanked by a red haired man, with a rather, large moustache. The older man turned to Jared, and walked over.

"It's good to meet you. My name's Shiro; and this is Pidge," He said, gesturing to himself and to the young girl, who did a small wave at her introduction. Jared nodded and shook Shiro's outstretched robotic hand.

"It's a pleasure. If you don't mind, I'm going to save my own introduction once the other two get here," Replied the White Paladin. Shiro raised an eyebrow. Then the woman and her companion spoke up as well.

"My name is Allura, the Princess of Altea," She said, bowing her head slightly.

"And I'm Coran, Allura's guardian. How're you?" He asked. Jared raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.

"Um…I'm fine," He replied. "And you?"

 **BEEP**

Before the male Altean could respond, the door opened, and Lance and Hunk walked in, groaning. Allura turned to them, clasping her hands in front of her.

"You made it," She said, sounding relieved. Lance spoke up.

"Yeah, just barely, that was a nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!" Lance complained, cracking his arm. Hunk turned to him.

"Think how I felt, I am Hunk," Replied the Yellow Paladin. Jared put his hand up.

"I got shot at by pirates," He, helpfully, supplied, using a dry tone. Pidge spoke up next.

"Yeah, we had a tough time, too," She said, turning to Shiro. From the smile the two shared, Jared was certain that; no, they did not have a rough time. Then Shiro turned to the two Alteans.

"Did we find the Red Lion yet?" He asked. Coran spoke up.

"Allura just located it. There's a bit of good news, and bad news. The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus," Everyone looked at Coran in worry, while Jared had narrowed his eyes. Coran continued. "But wait; good news again; we're Arus!"

"…Galra," Muttered Jared. Before he could continue his train of thought, Shiro spoke up.

"They're here already?" Asked the Black Paladin, leaning forward as he did so. Coran nodded.

"Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting, it's more of an art, than a science." The Altean was then interrupted by static on the screen, and a one eyed, purple-skinned Galra with large ears appeared on the screen.

" _Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire,"_ Everyone stared up at the screen as the Commander continued. _"I am here on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."_

With that chilling message, Sendak cut the feed, and the group was left in a tense silence.

"Alright; let's not panic." Said Shiro. Everyone turned to him. Hunk started speaking.

"Not panic? The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us," He held up his hand. "We only have five Lions."

"Technically, only four working Lions." Said Pidge, earning a pat on her shoulder by Hunk.

"That's right, thank you Pidge." Hunk walked into the center of the room. "Four working Lions, and a Castle that's like 10,000 years old."

Now Coran spoke up.

"Actually it's 10,600 years old." Coran straightened his shirt, as he continued. "You see it was built by my grandfather-"

"Thanks, Coran, thank you for that," Hunk put his finger on Coran's lips, who reacted with an amusingly annoyed face. Hunk turned back to Shiro. "See, now is the perfect time to panic!"

"Wait!" Everyone turned to Allura, after her outburst. "This Castle has a particle barrier we can activate."

"Girl, you've already activated my par-"

"Lance!" Shiro was able to prevent Lance from his, racy remark. Hearing a beeping noise, the group turned to see a scan of the battleship. Looking at it, Jared thought it looked familiar.

"The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's Ion Cannon forever. The Galra technology must've advanced since we fought them last." Coran said, looking thoughtful.

"Panic now?" Hunk asked Shiro.

"No, we've just got to figure out our plan of action. And figure it out quickly," Replied the Black Paladin. Then Lance spoke up.

"I say we jump through a wormhole and live to fight another day," He said. Hunk joined in.

"I second that, yes. I mean, we tried to find all the Lions, right? We gave it the old college try, couldn't do it; we only have four; we can't form Voltron. I mean, I guess we could form a snake…" He turned to Lance. "…Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance. That you were talking about."

"Then it's settled," Lance walked over to Allura. "Allura, you ride with me. One of you take the old guy."

Coran glared at the Blue Paladin, while Pidge spoke up.

"We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them," She said. Hunk turned to her.

"Okay, if we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we-hiss-out of here."

"There's no guarantee that Sendak would follow us," Said Jared, putting his hand to his chin. Keith joined in.

"He's right. Sendak could destroy the planet, then come after us anyway. Staying is our only option," Said the Red Paladin. Lance glared at him.

"Here's an option; shut your _quiznak_." He said. Jared, Allura, and Coran cringed, with Jared actually turning away with his hand on his mouth.

"I don't think you're using that word correctly," Countered Keith. Lance got in the Red Paladins face.

"What do you know, mullet?" Lance insulted. Now Keith glared.

"We're staying."

"Leaving!" At this point, Pidge and Hunk joined in.

"Staying!"

"Snake!"

"Guy's, STOP!" At Shiro's call, the four Paladins broke apart, and Jared took the opportunity to speak up.

"We need to examine the facts right now," Everyone looked at the White Paladin, as Jared continued. "Right now, we're outnumbered, and it's highly likely that Sendak and his men have more combat experience than any, or all, of us."

Lance looked proud of his plan, before Jared continued.

"However, we still have a couple advantages over the Galra right now,"

"Oh yeah? And what could those be, genius?" Lance got into Jared's face.

"One," Jared shot his finger up between himself and Lance, forcing the Blue Paladin to recoil. "We have the adavantage of a surprise attack, since the Galra only know about Blue and Yellow, but not that we have White and Green. Two; they can't kill us."

At that last point, everyone looked confused. Then Hunk spoke up.

"Wait, what do you mean they can't kill us?" He asked. Jared turned to him.

"Sendak specifically said he was here to confiscate the Lions. Confiscate, not destroy. That means, so long as we're in our Lions, we'll be safe from any lethal attacks," Then, Jared had a realization. "Although, I suppose that doesn't apply to the Castle."

As Jared finished his, analyzation, Shiro looked thoughtful, and then he turned to Allura.

"Princess Allura, these are your Lions. You've dealt with the Glara Empire before, you know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

"I… I don't know." Allura was frozen, as she tried to think of a solution. Then, Coran spoke up.

"Perhaps, your father can help." He said. His statement made Allura turn to him in confusion.

"My father?" She asked. Coran nodded.

"Come with me." With that, the two Alteans left the room, leaving the Voltron Paladins alone in the Control Room. As soon as they left, Lance turned to Jared, as if truly noticing him for the first time.

"So just who the heck is this guy?" He said, pointing at the White Paladin.

"My name is Jared. Hi," Said Jared, making a small wave. Lance wasn't exactly happy with the short explanation.

"We need some more info than that!" He yelled. Keith joined in.

"He can't give you more. He's got amnesia," Said the Red Paladin. The others looked at Jared in shock, and the White Paladin just shrugged.

"It's true. Even my name is just something Keith overheard me mutter when I started to wake up," He said. Hunk joined in.

"And that doesn't bother you at all?" Asked the Yellow Paladin.

"Not really," Shrugged Jared. "I mean, I am definitely curious, but it's not going to consume my every thought."

"Wow, If I couldn't remember my whole life, I'd be pretty desperate to find out," Said Pidge. Then Shiro spoke up.

"I know how you feel. I can't remember the past year of my life," The Black Paladin walked up and put his hand on Jared's shoulder. Then he smiled "Hey, maybe we were prisoners together at one point."

While the others were cringing at Shiro's attempt to lighten the mood, Jared smiled. Despite what he said, he was glad he had someone that could understand.

 **BEEP**

The conversation ended as the door beeped open, and Allura walked in, wearing a set of armor.

"You six Paladins were brought here for a reason," At her words, everyone turned to the Altean Princess. "The Voltron Lions were meant to be piloted by you, and you alone. We must fight, and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon," She finished with one final statement. "It is our destiny. Voltron is the Universes only hope. WE, are the Universes only hope."

"We're with you, Princess," Said Shiro. The other Paladins shared that sentiment.

 _ **The Armory**_

"Your suits of armor," At her words, the room lit up, revealing six containers, each with a white suit within. Each suit looked similar, with the same designs, but the colors were personalized to each Paladin's Lion. Following the others, Jared walked up to his, to see that it had silver designs throughout the armor, rather than simply a white outline.

"Boys, it's time to suit up!" At Shiro's voice, everyone removed their armor from its container, with the suits mechanically molding to fit each member of the team. Once they were all in their armor, Allura put her hand on a table at the front of the room, revealing five handles.

"The Bayard," Said Allura. "It's the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It will take a distinct shape for each Paladin."

The Bayard's flew to each Paladin, sans Shiro, and transformed into different weapons, all with a color scheme matching their Paladin's uniform. Hunks became a large Gatling gun; Keith's became a sword, Lance, an assault rifle, and Pidge, a small glowing Katar blade. Jared's Bayard was more unique. It became a 4-foot bow, with a circle attached to the handle, and a silver bar, that was diagonally curved, and connected to the original portion of the Bayard. He pulled the string, and a white and silver arrow formed.

"Hmm," Jared muttered. He turned at Lance's voice.

"Aw, you got a cute little Bayard," He said, pointing at Pidge's weapon. In response, Pidge hit Lance, electrocuting the older pilot. Jared chuckled as Pidge responded.

"Yeah, it is pretty cute," She replied. Jared put his hand up, and Pidge high-fived it. Both turned at Allura's voice.

"Shiro, I'm afraid your Bayard was lost with its Paladin," She said, looking apologetically at the Black Paladin. Shiro smiled.

"I guess I'll just have to make due," He responded. Jared spoke up.

"Don't forget," He said, making the human and Altean turn to him. "You still have that metal arm. That can do quite a bit of damage."

Shiro looked down at his arm, and nodded.

 _ **Control Room**_

"You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship," After everyone had prepared for battle, Allura gave the team a rundown of Sendak's defenses. Keith spoke up.

"That's, a pretty big ship," He said, looking at the hologram on the screen. "How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?"

"It's not a matter of 'we', it's a matter of 'you'," Offered Pidge. Then Hunk joined in.

"Pidge is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and, like, track it down," He said. Jared spoke up afterwards

"It's a lot like how I knew where to go to find White. Have you felt any odd energy; that you couldn't explain?"

"Yeah, Lance made fun of me for that," Replied the Red Paladin. Lance joined in himself.

"And I'm proud of that. But turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo," He said. Jared raised an eyebrow at Lance's wording, specifically what exactly a 'mumbo jumbo' was, as Allura spoke up.

"Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental," She said. "You'll have to earn its respect."

Keith nodded, and Shiro put his hand the Red Paladins shoulder.

"Alright, here's our plan of attack…" He began.

 _ **Space above Arus, Sendak's Battleship**_

Jared, Keith, and White followed the Green Lion, as the White Paladin recalled the particulars of Shiro's plan.

 _(Flashback)_

" _The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lions, but they don't know we have the Green and White Lions too." Shiro turned to the pilots of Voltron's legs. "Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up." Hunk nodded, as Lance spoke up._

" _Right," He said. Jared turned to Shiro._

" _And what exactly will I be doing?" He asked. Shiro looked at him._

" _While Sendak is distracted, you, Keith, Pidge, and I will sneak onto the ship in the White and Green Lions," Shiro turned to the rest of the group as he explained the rest of the plan. "Keith and I will find the Red Lion, while Pidge and Jared guard our exit. Hunk, Lance, find some to take down that Ion Cannon."_

 _(Flashback)_

" _Jared, we're here,"_ Jared was pulled out of his musings at Pidge's voice, to see that, yes, they were at the hull of Sendak's ship. Jared landed the White beside the Green Lion, and all four Paladins disembarked. Pidge cut a large hole in the hull, and Shiro went in first, followed by Keith and Pidge, with Jared trailing behind, giving the others cover. The group flew through the hole for a few minutes, until they reached an opening, and the ships artificial gravity began to take effect. Shiro went first once more, then Pidge, and finally, Jared and Keith. Then Lance's voice came through their helmets.

" _Pidge, what's your ETA?"_ Asked the Blue Paladin.

"We're in," She replied. As Keith touched down, Jared looked around the ship, and something about, felt familiar. He turned at Shiro's voice.

"Come on, we need to get moving," Commanded their leader. After a few minutes of running through the ship, an alarm sounded. Keith looked worried.

"Do you think they know we're here?" He asked, getting his Bayard ready.

"No," Replied Jared, shaking his head. "I think Hunk and Lance have stopped acting like bait."

Shiro nodded at Jared's deduction.

"I'm with Jared. We'll just have to be a bit more careful looking through the ship. Everyone, keep your Bayard's out," He said. Following his orders, the entire team activated their Bayard's, and proceeded to venture through Sendak's ship. Soon enough, the group arrived at a hallway. Keith went first, then Shiro, while Jared and Pidge stayed behind the walls, staying in cover. Shiro walked into the hallway, but then he paused, and looked behind him. He stood there for a moment, before gasping, and recoiling. Jared looked at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Shiro recovered, and spoke up.

"I've been here before," He said. The others were shocked as he continued. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here."

"So that means…" Jared turned to Pidge as she started speaking. "…your other crewmembers, they might be held captive here. We, we've got to rescue them."

"We don't have time for that," The group looked at Jared as he spoke. "This isn't a rescue mission, and we're already at enough of disadvantage to be taking prisoners who might be too weak to stand."

Pidge glared at Jared.

"But we can't just leave prisoners here!" She said.

"This is a war. If we can't make hard choices, we'll lose." Jared countered, proving definitively, why he was chosen as the White Paladin. Shiro looked conflicted, but had to concede.

"I'm sorry Pidge, but Jared is right. Now let's get moving," The Black Paladin started down the hallway, but before anyone could get very far, Pidge stopped them.

"No!" Shiro, Jared, and Keith turned at the Green Paladins voice. She looked down. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos mission with you."

"Commander Holt is your father?" Asked Shiro, amazed and confused.

"Yes!" Pidge yelled. "I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother, and I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close. I won't."

"I'm coming with you."

Everyone looked at Shiro in shock at his declaration.

"What?" Keith muttered. Jared looked at their leader in continual shock as he continued.

"I remember where the prisoners are held," Shiro turned to the other two Paladins. "Keith, you and Jared go find the Red Lion."

"By ourselves?" Asked the Red Paladin. Shiro put his hand on Keith's shoulder.

"Minor change of plans, you'll be fine. Just remember; patience, yields focus. So-" The Black Paladin was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. "Run!"

At Shiro's order, the team split up, Jared and Keith down one direction, Shiro and Pidge down the other. Jared and Keith reached a crossroads.

"Great. Now which way?" Keith muttered. Jared looked down both hallways, before he heard footsteps coming down the left one. It seems Keith heard them too, as the Red Paladin turned his head, and they both ran down the right hallway. A few minutes later, both Paladins where able to take a moment to rest. As they did, Jared frowned.

"Why would he do this?" Jared murmured, lowering his Bayard. Keith looked at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Shiro. Why would he risk the mission, just on the off chance that Pidge's parents are here? It's not logical," Replied the White Paladin. Keith looked down.

"I think it's because he doesn't want anyone else to lose their family," Said Keith, speaking rather softly. Jared turned to him in confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"From what I know, Shiro has spent almost his entire life in the Galaxy Garrison, and, while he's willing to lose people he sees as family, he doesn't want anyone else to go through that feeling," Replied Keith. Jared raised an eyebrow.

"And the Galaxy Garrison is…?" Jared trailed off, as Keith had a look of realization.

"Oh, right, you're not from Earth," Keith started to explain. "The Galaxy Garrison is essentially an exploration group, dedicated to outer space research. Everyone else is students, or graduates from it."

As Keith finished, Jared noticed something about what he said.

"'Everyone else'? What about you?" He asked. Keith almost looked ashamed.

"I got kicked out, a few months ago," Said the Red Paladin. Jared nodded.

"Makes sense," Replied the White Paladin. Keith looked at Jared in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean? I got kicked out because I couldn't control my temper," He said, confused.

"Exactly," Said Jared. "Like Allura said, the Red Lion is temperamental. If you have temper issues; that means you and the Red Lion were meant for each other."

As Jared finished, Keith couldn't help a small smile. Then, he stood up.

"Thanks. Now, let's see if I can find Red in this massive ship," Keith started to run off, but before he could, Jared grabbed his shoulder.

"No, this isn't going to work if you just run around aimlessly," He said. "Remember what Shiro told you, before we split up?"

"Patience, yields focus," Replied Keith. Jared nodded.

"Right, so be patient, and focus on Red," He counselled. Keith nodded himself, and began to concentrate. After a moment, he smiled, and turned down the hallway.

"Got you," Keith looked at Jared. "I know where to go."

"Lead the way," Jared replied.

 _ **Sendak's Battleship, Hangar**_

Jared and Keith ran into the Hangar, seeing the Red Lion, within his force field.

"Bingo," Keith put his hand on the force field, and waited. "Let's get out of here, open up."

Nothing happened. Jared tilted his head, as Keith continued.

"It's me, Keith. Your buddy," When Red continued to remain silent, Keith started to get annoyed. "It's me! Keith, your- Ugh, I AM YOUR PALADIN!"

He knocked on the force field, as Jared looked at him oddly. Before anything else could happen, the two Paladins were shot at by Galra. Both ducked, and activated the shields in their arms, with Jared kneeling down, giving the Galra a smaller target. Keith looked back at the Red Lion.

"I'm bonding with you! Hey!" Keith was now getting angry. "Come on, we're connected!"

As Keith tried to spark a connection with Red, Jared surveyed the battlefield. He saw five Galra drones, enough that he and Keith could take them out. He turned to Keith.

"You charge them, and I'll cover you," He said. Keith looked at him.

"You sure?" He asked. Jared activated his Bayard, and drew the string back, summoning three silver arrows.

"Yes, we can take these things," Replied Jared. Keith nodded, and summoned his own Bayard. He looked out at the Galra drones, and charged.

"You're not getting this Lion!" As he fought and distracted the drones, Jared lowered his shield, and aimed his bow at three drones in the back. Firing, he hit two drones in the head, and hit the third in the shoulder. Unfortunately, the third managed to shoot at Keith, who had taken out a couple drones himself, knocking the Red Paladin back and off his feet.

" _Quiznak,_ " Growled the White Paladin. He looked around, trying to find an advantage, as more Galra drones entered the hangar. Once Jared looked at Keith, he saw a way out. Quickly weighing the risk, Jared decided it was worth it. "Keith! Hit the button beside you!"

Keith looked back at Jared, to see the White Paladin activate the rebreather in his visor, and looked to his side. Following Jared's lead, he also activated his visor's rebreather, and hit the button on the console beside him. Suddenly, the hangar doors opened, and everything not bolted down in the room was sucked out. Jared managed to jetpack over to Keith, and grabbed a hold of the console to avoid being sucked out, himself. The two Paladins tried to hold on to the console, until Keith's hand was hit by a piece of debris, knocking his hand off, and causing him to lose his grip. Before Keith was sucked out into the void of space, Jared managed to grab his hand, and kept both of them in the hangar. Jared looked back at the Red Lion, hoping that he would wake up soon. Suddenly, Jared's heart gave an excruciating lurch, forcing Jared to let go of the console in pain, and sending both Paladins into empty space. Jared tried to use his jetpack to stabilize himself, using controlled bursts to slow his movement, until White appeared out of nowhere, and she managed to catch him in her mouth. Soon enough, Jared was back in the cockpit, and the seat pulled him towards the controls once more.

"Thank you," He said, smiling. Suddenly, he gained a fearful look. "Wait, where's Keith?"

Jared rotated White around in space, until he saw the Red Lion, catch Keith in his own mouth, causing Jared to sigh in relief. Then Keith's face showed up on Jared's screen.

" _Are you ok, Jared? That was a bumpy ride,"_ Asked the Red Paladin. Jared chuckled.

"I'm fine. I see Red has decided to let you in," He replied, smiling. Keith, nodded, and the two set off, passing the Green Lion, and seeing the Yellow Lion next to a damaged Ion Cannon

" _You guys made it,"_ Said Hunk.

" _Kitty Rose has left the stage,"_ Pidge joined in.

" _Let's get the heck out of here,"_ And Lance spoke up as well. As the group flew away, Hunk spoke up.

" _I hope I stopped that Cannon, I could barely make a dent in it,"_ He said. Looking back, Jared saw the massive dent in the Ion Cannon.

"Well, it should take them some time to repair it, which gives us one more advantage. Now then, let's get you your Lion, Shiro," As the Paladins returned to the Castle, Jared couldn't help but wonder had caused his heart to react the way it did.

 _ **Castle of Lions, Black Lion Hangar**_

Jared sat in the White Lion, the other Paladins, bar Shiro, doing the same, all five of them facing a massive door. Shiro was on the ground, and Jared could barely see the Black Paladin. Suddenly, Jared heard a growl in his head, and the silver screens grew just a little brighter. He looked around, and saw that the eyes of the other Lions were glowing even more than normal. Then, after feeling a slight tremor, Jared looked forward, and could see the door to the Black Lion was opening. Once it did completely, the Black Lion reared its head, and roared, with the other Lions following suite. Jared smiled as Shiro walked up to his Lion, but he also felt something he couldn't explain, like something was wrong. Suddenly he heard an alarm blaring throughout the Castle, and soon enough, Allura appeared on White's screen.

" _Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!"_ She yelled. Shiro finished setting up the Black Lion, and, with another resounding roar, the Head of Voltron flew upwards, with the rest of the Lions following him. Jared landed in front of Shiro, so Black's massive size didn't obscure his vision. Looking forward, Jared managed to catch a glimpse of the Ion Cannon being charged, before it fired at them.

"Oh, _quiznak_ ," Jared muttered, as the blast from the Ion Cannon impacted with the particle barrier. The force of the explosion was so powerful, Jared almost felt the ground below him crack, and the White Lion was actually pushed back slightly. As the shaking ended, Jared heard Hunk speak up.

" _Man those Galra guys repair things fast,"_ Muttered the Yellow Paladin fearfully.

"I guess I was wrong about us having another advantage," Said Jared, as he and White prepared for another strike from the Ion Cannon.

" _The barrier gets weaker with every blast,"_ Said Coran, his face appearing on the White Lions monitors. _"Once that shield goes down, we'll be defenseless."_

" _I can give you cover with the Castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll all be destroyed!"_ Joined Allura. Hunk spoke up fearfully

" _Jeez, no pressure,_ " He said. Jared widened his eyes as he saw the Ion Cannon firing once more.

"Brace for impact!"

 **BOOOOM**

Even as he called out this warning, the Ion Cannon hit the barrier again, and every Lion was shaken by the blast. Suddenly, Shiro spoke up.

" _Listen up Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got. This looks bad but we can do this. Are you with me?"_ He asked. Jared nodded, understanding the seriousness of what Shiro was saying, until Hunk ruined the moment.

" _I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?"_

"""" _Y_ e _s_ ," _"""_ Everyone bar Shiro replied, exasperated by Hunk's rather pointless question.

" _Let's do this!"_ With Shiro's command, all six of the Voltron Lions ran forward, out of the protection of the particle barrier. Jared flew up, avoiding hitting Shiro, and followed behind the team in the air. Then Lance spoke up.

" _Uh, how?"_ The Blue Paladin asked, referring to Shiro's proclamation. Keith joined in.

" _Good question. Does anyone have any ideas on how to form Voltron?"_ Keith asked.

" _I don't see a 'combine into giant robot' button, anywhere on my dashboard."_ Hunk replied.

"It wouldn't be that simple," Joined Jared, moving to hit a Glara drone ship with White's teeth. He flew through the ship like it was as insubstantial as the sky, the two portions quickly exploding. "If it takes certain people to even pilot the Lions, it wouldn't be easy to combine them."

Hearing a growl in his head as he dodged a blast from a drone ship, Jared smiled, and turned around. Immediately, White opened her mouth, and a powerful blue laser fired out, destroying the drone that fired at him.

" _This is insane! Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?"_ Pidge was clearly getting annoyed with the situation, as she turned around, and caught a drone in Green's mouth, and threw it at another, causing both Galran's to explode.

" _We got to do something,"_ Keith used Red's tail to destroy two more Galran's, and paused in his movements temporarily.

" _Combine!"_ Until Hunk used the Yellow Lion to smash into Red, obviously hoping that something would happen.

" _Hey!"_ Keith was understandably upset, as Hunk appeared more disappointed than apologetic.

" _Ok that didn't work,"_ Suddenly more drones arrived, and even with Jared providing cover, the team had to retreat. Once more, Allura's face appeared.

" _Quickly Paladins! Our energy levels are getting low,"_ The Altean Princess cringed as the Castle was struck with another blast from the Sendak's battleship.

" _Maybe if we flew in formation, we'll just, combine,"_ Shiro's voice made Jared look down at the Black Lion. _"Take off, on my cue."_

Jared landed behind Shiro, as the team charged towards the cliff's edge.

" _One,"_ Jared tried to focus his mind on forming the metal soldier from his vision with White.

" _Two,"_ Something seemed to try and tug at his mind, but he wasn't sure what it was.

" _Three,"_ Jared took a calming breath, and began to let the feeling take him over.

" _Voltron!"_ The White Paladin flew into the air, following the other five Lions, as his eyes, unknown to him, began to glow, with the energy actually leaving his eyes in what seemed to be flames. Every Paladin struggled to turn into Voltron, as they all flew into the sky, as Shiro spoke up. _"Nothing's happening."_

" _Hey wait, wait, wait! I think I feel something,"_ As Hunk joined in the conversation; Jared looked up, and growled.

" _I do, too! I feel it. It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction,"_ Exclaimed the Yellow Paladin.

"Unfortunately, it's not the pull we wanted, Hunk," Joined Jared.

" _Guys, Jared's right. Look up,"_ At both Jared's and Shiro's declaration, the other Paladins looked up, only to see Sendak's tractor beam aimed right at them.

" _What the cheese?"_

" _Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!"_

Lance and Pidge both voiced their immense displeasure at the team's current situation, as the Ion Cannon prepared a final shot, and fired at the Castle, finally destroying the particle barrier.

" _Quiznack,"_ Muttered Jared.

" _Oh, no,"_ After Shiro voiced his own worry, Hunk spoke up.

" _I don't care what you say Shiro! I'm panicking now!"_ After his declaration, Hunk began screaming, and the others, bar Shiro and Jared, began yelling as well. Jared tried to think of a way to get out of the tractor beam, but before he could run through all his options, Shiro spoke up.

" _No! We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up, we are the universes only hope. Everyone is relying on us,"_ As Shiro continued, Jared took a calming breath, and began to focus. _"We can't fail. We WON'T fail. If we work together, we'll win together._

""""" _Y_ e _a_ h!" _""""_ Everyone responded with renewed fervor, as the Lions glowed, and roared. Suddenly, all six Lions broke away from the tractor beam. It was as if the Lions entered a separate dimension, as all the surrounding area, was nothing more than an endless expanse of stars.

" _Whoa,"_ Lance was the most vocal of his awe, but not the only one in shock. Suddenly, Jared felt a small lurch, as White raced towards the Black Lion, with a silver stream of light following her. Jared looked around, and saw the same thing happening to the other Lions.

Black's arms folded in on themselves, as Red and Green flew towards him, their own limbs folding up into their bodies. Yellow and Blue went through a similar process, yet their arms remained visible after folding. White, however, had a more drastic change.

Her head extended, but immediately tilted downwards, perpendicular to her torso, with her arms extending straight upwards, yet turning to face each other. She flew towards Black, whose legs extended away from his body, and over White's. The two Lions legs connected, and both connected to Blue and Yellow. White's arms connected to Black, reaching into the larger Lions sides. When the transformation was completed, Jared's screen changed, as if he was further up on Voltron.

"Beautiful," Muttered the White Paladin. Suddenly, the team was out of the separate dimension, only to see the Ion Cannon facing them, and about to fire "Keith, hit the Cannon!"

The Red Paladin obliged, slamming Red into the Cannon, and forcing it to change directions. The sudden impact caused the Cannon to fire, narrowly missing both Voltron, and the Castle. Everyone was rather, vocal, about their excitement.

" _This is incredible!"_ Keith.

" _We formed Voltron!"_ Pidge.

" _I'm a leg!"_ Hunk.

" _How are we going this?"_ At Lance's question, Shiro spoke up as well.

" _I don't know, but let's get that Cannon!"_ Nodding at Shiro's order, Jared moved White to the side, while Keith and Pidge moved their Lions and took hold of the Ion Cannon. The Arms of Voltron ripped the Ion Cannon off the ship, and unceremoniously tossed the weapon down to the planet's surface. Then, Keith slammed Red into the ship, and launched a massive blast of energy through it.

" _Let's move, we need to take out the hangar,"_ At Shiro's order, Jared, Lance, and Hunk moved Voltron up and forward, before slamming down, and breaking through the ship's hull, where Green fired his own laser. The team pulled up, and, with a resounding yell, all six Paladins slammed into the ship one last time, destroying the Galran battleship for good. As the team landed, they split back into Lions, and moved to the front of the Castle. Once everyone disembarked, Allura and Coran came running out of the Castle.

"Good work Paladins!" She exclaimed joyfully. Lance once again tried to flirt with her.

"Thanks pretty lady," Replied the Blue Paladin. Jared rolled his eyes as Shiro spoke up.

"We did it," He said.

"Heck yeah we did," Joined Keith. Shiro turned to him, smiling.

"How did we do it?" He asked. Then Hunk spoke up.

"I was just screaming the whole time," Said Hunk, as he struggled to remove his helmet. "Maybe that did it,"

Pidge put her glasses on, and looked down sadly. Shiro put his arm on her shoulder.

"We're not gonna stop searching until we find your brother and father," Said the Black Paladin. "Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

Pidge smiled, and then Allura spoke up.

"We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop, until he has these Lions," She said. Jared turned away at Zarkon's name, feeling, something, from it. He was brought out of it, once Coran joined the conversation.

"Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing, because you're gonna have to form Voltron again, and again," The Altean said.

"Totally," Hunk replied. Then, he realized what Coran said. "Wait, what?"

Every Paladin bar Jared looked at Coran in shock, and Lance spoke up.

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time," He complained. Coran was oblivious to the Blue Paladin's skepticism.

"Oh, and you only had to fight ONE ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole FLEET of them!" He moved back, and started tugging his moustache. "It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at their new title, and all turned back to their Lions.

"'Defenders of the Universe', huh?" Shiro spoke up. "That's got a nice ring to it."

Jared smiled, before he frowned, remembering his earlier question. The White Paladin turned to Lance.

"What's a mumbo-jumbo?"

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 **A/N: In case you couldn't tell, I am currently obsessed with Voltron; Legendary Defender. I decided to write this, because it felt like the Voltron Paladins are missing something, in what each Paladin represents. We have the free spirit Lance, the sharpshooter, the hot head Keith, who is the fastest, and essential a blitz fighter, the tech nerd Pidge, who is the most adaptable when in the Green Lion, the food master Hunk, who is undoubtedly the tank, and the conflicted leader Shiro, who is easily the most balanced of them all. I decided to add the glass cannon that can be the logic and coldness required in a war, which is what the Paladins are fighting. Finally, there will be NO pairing in this story.**

 **Jared's Theme Song: I'm So Sorry, by Imagine Dragons.**


	2. Some Assembly Required

**A/N: I'm glad at how well the first chapter was received. I hope you all like this one as well.**

"[Sound]/Talking/ **Emphasis** ", _"[Sound]/Radio/Video/Robot"_ , _'Thoughts'_ , _Flashback_ , _ **Location**_ , **EXPLOSION/ALARM/ENERGY** , **Door/Computer**

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _ **Castle of Lions; Jared's Quarters**_

 **BLARE BLARE**

Jared's eyes shot open at the alarm, and Allura's voice coming through the intercom.

" _Everybody up! Zarkon's attacking!"_ Jared jumped out of his bed, grabbing the pants of his Paladin armor, putting them on, and running out the door. _"The Castle's about to be destroyed! Go, go, go! We need Voltron now!"_

As he ran into the hallway, Jared saw Shiro and Keith join him, the trio all running towards the Control Room.

" _Hurry, we can't survive much longer!"_ As Allura continued, Shiro turned to his teammates.

"Are you guys ok?" He asked. Keith nodded, as Jared spoke up.

"Yeah," As he ran, Jared realized something. "In fact, I haven't felt any impacts at all."

Jared's suspicions were proved correct, when Coran's voice came on.

" _Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off"_ Jared's eye twitched as they group arrived at the door to the Control Room, with Pidge, Hunk, and the Galran drone Pidge had hacked, named Rover, joining them.

 **Swish**

The five Paladins walked in, as Coran continued his, rant.

"Wait, what? Her severed head is speaking to me. What is it Allura's head? What are your final words?" He actually had tears in his eyes as Allura, seeing the Paladins, tried to get her caretakers attention.

"Coran?"

"Oh yes, Princess, I'm listening," Allura slumped over at Coran's, admirable, commitment.

"It's over," She said. Coran didn't stop, and Jared's eye kept twitching.

"Oh I know! [Groan] If only Voltron had been formed," He finally stopped when Jared shot an arrow at the speaker in Coran's hand, finally catching the Altean's attention. "Oh, time!"

Coran stood up, throwing away the speaker.

"I'm guessing this isn't an actual attack," At Shiro's statement, Allura glared at the team.

"And it's a good thing it wasn't, because it took you…Coran?" She turned to her caretaker.

"75°," Everyone stared at him for a moment, before Coran realized his mistake. "Oh, sorry, no, this is a meat thermometer."

"[Sigh] However long it was, it was too long. You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon," The Princess looked over the team. "Look at you! Only Shiro is fully in uniform. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your Bayards? And where is Lance?"

 **Swish**

At the sound of door opening, everyone looked to see Lance walking out, looking incredibly well rested. Jared glared in jealousy as the Blue Paladin walked in.

"[Yawn] Good morning everybody. What's going on?" He asked. He flinched a little bit at the severity of Jared's glare, before the White Paladin looked over at Allura as she spoke up.

"Coran and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order. We had to run a test on the alarms and we decided to test you as well," She glared again, putting her arms behind her back. "Guess which one failed."

"Hey!" Everyone turned to Hunk as he joined in. "[Yawn] You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man," Hunk then began listing off everything that happened. "Monday night I was on Earth; now I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird Castle…That's a lot to process in, uh…I don't know, what day is today?"

"The day I get some more sleep," Jared muttered. He began to walk away until Shiro spoke up.

"Hang on Jared, we need to get some more training done, before the day is out," Said the Black Paladin. Jared grumbled, being unable to refute the logic of Shiro's order. Then Allura joined in.

"You must understand the stakes of our mission," She brought up the universal hologram. "Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations," Soon, almost the entire hologram was covered in orange lights. "So we have to assume, that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe. Earth is here," Allura rotated the hologram to show the human's home. "An attack on your planet; is inevitable."

"Oh, no," Hunk muttered. Jared looked down, as he couldn't help but feel, isolated, in this respect, especially considering what he had learned from Coran.

" _So, what happened on Sendak's ship?" Coran asked. He, Jared, and Shiro were in the med bay, as Jared explained._

" _I was holding on to a console in the hangar, keeping me and Keith in the ship, when I suddenly felt this, pain; radiate through my heart," Jared put his hand over his heart, while Coran had a thoughtful look on his face, before looking up at Jared._

" _Why don't I take a blood sample," He said, making the head and core of Voltron turn to him._

" _It'll let me see if there's anything in your body that shouldn't be there."_

 _Jared nodded after a moment, and raised his sleeve, allowing Coran to take a blood sample, his silver blood filling the vile. As they waited, Shiro turned to the White Paladin._

" _Has this happened any other times?" He asked, Jared shaking his head in the negative._

" _No. Just when I looked up at Red," Replied Jared._

 **Beep**

" _Ah, that must be the results," Said Coran. The Altean turned to the computer, looking through the information, before he stopped. "So, it seems like you have some sort of microscopic growth in your bloodstream. Thankfully, they only seem to become a problem if your heart rate reaches high levels. Let's see if we can find what your species is, so we can cure that…" Coran stopped, his eyes widening as he looked at another piece of information. The pause caused Shiro and Jared to look at each other in worry._

" _Is; something wrong, Coran?" Asked Shiro._

" _You're a Celestian…" Muttered the Altean. Jared raised an eyebrow._

" _A Celestian? Doesn't that sound a little, pretentious?" He asked. Coran turned to him._

" _It was well deserved. The few Celestians that I've met were capable of controlling Quintessence. King Alfor even used their abilities as the basis for the Voltron Lions," He said. Jared and Shiro were in shock at that revelation, with Jared looking at his hand._

" _Incredible," He muttered. Closing his fist, the White Paladin looked up Coran. "So, how do we get rid of that growth in my blood? Is there any safe way?"_

" _I'm not sure if we should," Said Coran. Shiro looked at him in shock._

" _Wait, what are you talking about?" Asked the Black Paladin. Coran turned to him._

" _It's just, Celestians are an immensely, reclusive, and secretive species. I can name on one hand the amount of times I've met one. I don't know if this growth is what allows them to control Quintessence, or if it serves some other function. With the amount of unknowns, I think we should leave it as is."_

 _Shiro sighed, before turning to Jared._

" _What do you want to do Jared? This is your body after all," At Shiro's question, Jared put his hands in front of him, thinking on the possibilities, before looking up at the two adults._

" _I say for now, we leave them in. Coran's right, too much of this is unknown. We can't take the risk that the growth is an essential part of my body, and by removing it, we lose one of the six people in the universe capable of piloting a Voltron Lion," He smirked slightly. "Besides, manipulating Quintessence sounds like it could be useful."_

"The Princess is right," Jared was taken out of his memory by Shiro's voice. "Let's get to our Lions, and start training."

"Wait," Everyone looked at Pidge as she spoke up. "But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship."

"Ah, negative Number Six," Coran spoke up, measuring Pidge from the floor to her hair. "I have you ranked by height, ok?" Pidge slightly glared at Coran, as he continued. "The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow."

"That's right," Said Allura. "Now get to your Lions."

At that, the arms and legs of Voltron moved to separate elevators, while Jared and Shiro moved to a pair of platforms at the front and back of the room. The two platforms lowered, with Jared moving into a tunnel with silver lights glowing all the way down. Through a hatch in the tunnel, Jared was able to get the rest of his Armor, and got it on. Once the platform had stopped moving, Jared saw a zip-line, leading down an angled corridor, with more silver lights.

Grabbing onto the zip-line, Jared moved down the corridor, until another tunnel came into view. He let go of the zip-line, and fell down the tunnel, until he reached the bottom, and landed in his Speeder. The White Speeder was very streamlined, with a pair of circular wings allowing it more maneuverability. Jared grabbed the controls, and flew forward, into yet another elevator, this one going up. Once it finished, the elevator led him to White, and Jared flew forward, with some form of energy pulling the Speeder towards its Lion. The seat lifted out the Speeder, and moved into the cockpit, Jared taking hold of the Lions controls.

 _ **Arus; Field outside the Castle of Lions**_

Jared sat in his cockpit with four of the five remaining Lions, waiting for Hunk to arrive. Soon, Lance spoke up.

" _Should, someone go in after him?"_ He asked. The question was made moot, when Hunk flew towards them.

" _Hey, sorry everybody,"_ The Yellow Lion landed beside Green, as Hunk continued. _"Seriously though, can't they park these things like a little closer to the bridge?"_

"Where's the fun in that?" Replied Jared. Then Shiro spoke up.

" _Alright guys, let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sink,"_ As he finished, Allura came on screen.

" _Feel the bond with your Lions, and your fellow Pilots, until five become one unit, and you form Voltron,"_

" _Y_ e _a_ h _!_ " With that advice, the six Paladins flew their Lions into the sky, resuming the same positions that they had yesterday,

"Y _e_ a _h_! _"_ Everyone tried to focus on Voltron as they flew, attempting to make their Lions combine once again.

" _Y_ e _a_ h _!_ " It was taking a little longer than last time, but no one had given up yet.

"... _Y_ a _y_ , _"_ At this point everyone was getting a little annoyed with their lack of success. They flew around once more.

"… _Whoo…Am I the only one still pretending to be excited?"_ Hunk asked.

"[Groan]" Replied Jared.

" _Clearly this isn't working. Let's set down for a little bit,"_ Joined Shiro. As the team followed Shiro's order, Keith spoke up.

" _Maybe we should be building Voltron from the ground up,"_ He said. Jared raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly do you mean?" Asked the White Paladin.

" _I mean let's try literally building Voltron, like stacking on top of each other,"_ He replied. Lance joined in.

" _Like a cheerleader pyramid?"_ He asked, incredulously. Keith didn't like his suggestion being shot down.

" _You got a better idea?"_ He asked, earning a small glare from the Blue Paladin. Jared spoke up.

"Wait, what's a cheerleader pyramid?" He wondered. Then Shiro joined in.

" _It's worth a try,"_ As everyone got into position, Jared looked on in confusion.

"…Is no one going to tell me what a cheerleader is?"

A few minutes later, after being told what they were doing, Jared joined the other Paladins, in stacking atop each other. Green and Blue were on the ground, with Red and White atop them. Black landed above Red and White, however, Hunk unfortunately didn't know where to go, and landed Yellow on top of Black, earning the Yellow Paladin a slight glare from his fellow Pilots.

" _Hunk, what are you doing?"_ Asked Shiro, looking more annoyed than anything else.

" _What do you mean?"_ At Hunks response, Jared sighed.

"[Sigh] You're supposed to be the leg, big guy, down there," Replied Jared, pointing down to beside Blue, where Green was currently parked.

" _What? No. No, no, no._ _I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time I was the head, right?"_ Hunk's 'memory', caused Jared to roll his eyes as Lance joined in.

" _You yelled 'I'm a leg!'"_ He yelled.

" _Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things,"_ Said Hunk, causing Jared to sigh at the, imaginative, response.

" _Shiro's, the head,"_ Joined Keith.

"… _All the time?"_ Hunk's voice was almost pleading.

" _Let's just try it my way for now,"_ Said Shiro. Hunk finally relented.

" _Ok, but next time I call head,"_ Hunks, request, made Jared look at him in a slightly annoyed scowl.

Soon enough, the Paladins had their Lions in the correct position, with Blue and Yellow on the ground, and White above them. Red and Green were perched with one leg each on White, and the other on Blue and Yellow, respectively.

" _Ok, arms, and legs, and I'll form the_ _head,"_ Shiro lowered Black atop Red and Green, causing White to groan slightly from the massive weight. _"Feel the bonds with your Lions, now channel your energy into forming Voltron."_

Jared closed his eyes, and he could tell by the silence that the others had done the same.

" _Focus, focus,"_ At Shiro's voice, Jared took a few calming breaths, and tried to remember the feeling he had last time. A few minutes later, Shiro spoke up again. _"…Is everyone bonding and focusing?"_

" _Why was this so much easier before,"_ Said Lance, causing everyone else to sigh.

" _[Sigh] Let's take a break,"_ Joined Shiro. As everyone landed on the ground, Allura's voice came through.

" _Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help,"_ Said the Princess. Jared raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" He asked. Allura smiled. For some reason, it unnerved Jared slightly.

" _Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron, until you were in the heat of battle,"_

" _Yeah,"_

" _I'm listening,"_

" _You're right,"_

" _Yeah, I guess,"_ As everyone voiced their confirmations, Jared's unnerved feeling rose.

"…Where are you going with this?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

" _Perfect. Because, I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the Castle's defenses,"_ She pressed some buttons, before turning back to the team with a smile. _"This should help."_

"Wait, what?" Even at Jared's question, Allura's smile never dropped.

 **BWOOM**

The team looked up at the Castle, to see the particle barrier had been activated, and lasers had begun to fire out. The blasts hit the ground near the Lions, causing the Paladins to run around the field.

" _Allura, what are you doing!?"_ Yelled Keith, trying not to be hit by the endless storm of lasers.

" _Running a diagnostic test on the Castle's defenses, and inspiring you,"_ Allura's voice was filled with far too much joy as she continued. _"I believe in you Paladins. Let fear be your guide; form Voltron!"_

" _Oh forget this!"_ As Jared flew into the air, he looked at Blue when he heard Lance's voice, seeing the Lion turn around. _"I'm heading back to the Castle!"_

"Lance, wait!" Jared's warning came too late, as Lance slammed into the particle barrier, sending the Blue Lion and his Paladin crashing to the ground.

" _Please, stop, please! Have mercy on us!"_ At Hunk's pleading, Allura glared.

" _You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you? He's probably on his way now to destroy us all,"_ She turned around, and before her image disappeared, Jared heard a robotic female voice speak up.

" _Auto-Lock-On, engaged,"_ Jared paled slightly when he heard that.

"Oh, no,"

 _ **Castle of Lions; Rec Room**_

All six Paladins were arranged around the Rec Room, a few hours after escaping Allura's 'inspiration'.

 **Swish**

"Are we at full power in condenser number five yet?" Allura and Coran walked through the door, the Princess earning a glare from Jared, as he lay against the couch.

"No. Still just 84%," Coran replied, looking at the scanner in his hand. Then Allura realized the Paladins were in the room, and she smiled.

"You did it!" Everyone looked up at her. "You formed Voltron."

"No," Said Keith. "The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down so we just flew in," He shrugged, as Allura's eye twitched.

"…What?"

"Oh, right," Coran spoke up, looking slightly nervous. "Sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors."

 **Swish**

Before Allura could turn to her caretaker, Shiro walked in the room.

"What are you guys doing in here, we're not taking a break," At that moment, Jared saw another figure blur in over top Shiro, and a small pain in his head. Before he could really process what he had seen, Allura spoke up.

"Shiro's right, you should be training."

"[Groan] We've been training," Said Hunk. "When are we going back to Earth?"

"I'm not going back until I find my family," Joined Pidge, causing Jared to look at her. Shiro spoke up next.

"Guys," Everyone turned to the Black Paladin. "There won't be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon."

"How are we going to fight?" Asked Lance, sitting up. "We can't even figure out how to form Voltron."

"Well I'm not surprised," Said Coran, putting the scanner back in his pocket. "You know, the original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side by side. They were like a pack of _yalmors_ , linked at the ears."

"Wow…Yeah that's definitely not us," Lance fell back down on the couch after he spoke, causing Jared to chuckle as Coran continued.

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time," His face brightened up a little with an idea. "You should try working out on the training deck."

"…There's a training deck?" Asked Hunk.

 _ **Training Arena**_

"This place is full of surprises," Muttered Jared, looking around the massive room. The six Paladins were arranged in a circle in the center, awaiting Coran's instructions

" _[Ahem] Two, two, one two,"_ Coran's voice came through the speakers, causing the Paladins to become more alert. _"Ok, listen up guys. The Paladin Code demands that you put your team members' safety, above your own,"_ He paused. _"A swarm of drones is about to attack."_

Jared readied himself as the aforementioned drones came out of the walls.

" _It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team."_

Everyone got in position, activating the shields on their arms.

"Wait, wait, wait," Hunk said, slightly overwhelmed by the suddenness of the situation. "What's going on?" He turned to his arm, activating his own shield. "[Gasps] Whoa. Did you guys get one of these?"

"Get ready," Said Shiro. As soon as he did, one of the drones fired at Hunk, with the Yellow Paladin ducking under, allowing Pidge to get hit. As soon she was, the floor beneath her opened up, and the Green Paladin fell down, to who knows where. Jared turned to Hunk, blocking laser fire.

"Hunk, don't dodge the blasts, we need to-" Jared was interrupted by Hunk getting hit by a laser himself, and being sent into the basement. "…block."

" _Protect your teammates,"_ Said Coran, as the remaining Paladins got closer, back to back. _"Or no one will be there to protect you."_

All four Paladins huddled together, watching each other's backs, as Coran spoke up once more.

" _Time to increase intensity,"_ With that the drones became blurs, forcing the Paladins to rely more on their instincts than their eyes. As they survived the onslaught, Lance spoke up.

"You keeping up over there Keith?" He asked. Keith wasn't interested.

"Just concentrate on keeping me safe," Replied the Red Paladin. Lance looked back at him.

"[Scoffs] Me? I own this drill," As he spoke, Lance didn't notice the drones lower down. "You're the one who needs to concentrate."

Lance's distraction forced him to panic as a drone fired at his legs, dodging instead of blocking; and letting Keith get hit, sending him down into the floor. Lance followed soon after, leaving only Shiro and Jared remaining. The pair did well enough, until Jared felt something, change, in the world. The distraction caused Jared to make a small misstep, allowing one of the drones to hit him, and send him into the ground. A few seconds after he fell, he landed in another room, where the rest of the Paladins were. Lance and Keith were arguing, as usual, while Pidge and Hunk sat around. As Jared stood up, Shiro fell into the room as well, yet he managed to land on his feet.

"…Well you ruined my footing!" Lance yelled. Keith rolled his eyes.

"We were on opposite sides of the room, how could I do that?" He asked. Before Lance could retort, Jared spoke up.

"Stop," He said. Everyone turned to him, surprised at the forcefulness of his voice. "It's no one's fault we failed, because it's everyone's fault."

"But-" Keith tried to speak up, but Jared wouldn't let him.

"We're a team. That means, whether we win or lose, it's on all of us. There is no placing blame," As Jared finished, everyone looked down slightly, trying to consider what he said. After a moment, he turned to the door. "Come on, let's keep training."

A few minutes later, everyone was back in the main room, and Coran turned to them.

"Oh good, you're back. Now, the next exercise; is a maze. The surprise is, you won't know who you'll be paired with," He said. Following that, Coran split the Paladins into groups of two, with Keith, Hunk, and Shiro in one, and Jared, Pidge, and Lance in the other. The two groups went into separate rooms, and then Coran called Lance out. As they waited, Jared turned to Pidge.

"What's your real name?" He asked. Pidge looked up at the White Paladin in shock, and almost jumped out of her seat.

"W-what are you talking about, it's-" Before Pidge could finish her scrambled sentence, Jared spoke up.

"Either your parents didn't do a good job naming you, or Pidge Holt is not your real name," He said. Pidge stopped, and resigned herself to Jared's questions.

"…Katie," She said. Jared nodded.

"Ok," He said, and he slipped into silence. Pidge was shocked at how easily he was letting this go.

"Wait, that's it?" She asked. Jared looked to her, and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You just find out that I lied to you about who I was, and you don't even care?"

"Do you plan on betraying us?" Jared replied. Pidge glared.

"No, why would you even ask that?" She said. Jared shrugged.

"Then outside of curiosity, I don't really care what your name is. It doesn't make you who you are, your actions and reasoning does," He reasoned. Pidge looked at him in shock.

"…You're weird," She said. Jared actually laughed at that.

"Damn right," He said.

" _Jared, could you come up please?"_ At Coran's voice, Jared started to leave the room, but before he could, Pidge stopped him.

"Wait," At the Green Paladin's voice, Jared turned around, and Pidge was looking down. "Could you, still call me Pidge?"

Jared smiled.

"Sure."

 _ **Training Room**_

Jared walked into the center of the room; before he saw a large amount of massive energy walls surround him.

' _Well, Coran did say this was a maze,'_ He thought. "Hey Coran, how am I supposed to get out of here?"

" _Uh, take um, four-no-three, three steps, forward,"_ At Hunks incredibly nervous voice, Jared learned the purpose of the exercise. Following Hunks order, Jared took three steps forward, got a slight shock, and bit back a grunt. _"Sorry!"_

"It's ok," Said Jared. They tried a few more times, Jared getting shocked on both attempts. He could hear Hunk's constant panic, so he decided to step in. "Hunk!

" _Y-yes?"_ He replied, meekly.

"Think of this as a recipe," He said. Hunk paused, allowing Jared to continue. "Think of the maze as a recipe, and each direction you give me, will help the food cook."

"… _Are you sure?"_ Hunk asked. Jared sighed.

"I trust you," He said, with the most conviction he could, looking up at the control room. He could hear Hunk take a few calming breaths, before he started to give more instructions. This time, the two made it through the maze almost without incident, with Jared only getting shocked once more at a particularly confusing part of the maze. "Well done Hunk."

" _Thanks."_

 _ **Skies above Arus**_

" _You'll never be able to form Voltron, unless each of you has a strong bond with his Lion,"_ The Paladins were back in the sky, with Coran trying another training exercise.

" _No problem,"_ Said Lance. _"Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real,"_

"How?" Jared asked, considering they had only met less than two days ago. His question went unanswered, as Coran continued.

" _Perfect. Then you won't have any issues with this exercise,"_ That caused Jared to raise an eyebrow. _"Everyone; put your Lion's into a nosedive!"_

Everyone did, as he had asked, with Red seeming to pull ahead slightly.

" _This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years. But, we're in a bit of a rush, so, here we go,"_ Coran brought up a screen, and pressed the button. _"Activating training helmets."_

Suddenly, Jared's sight was blocked completely, causing his eyes to widen in shock. Lance was far more vocal.

" _[Screams] Coran, what's happening? I can't see!"_ Yelled the Blue Paladin.

" _You must learn to see through your Lions eyes,"_ Coran's voice was annoyingly calm while they plummeted towards the ground. _"The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the Lion feels."_

The team was quiet for a few seconds, before Hunk spoke up.

" _[Whimper] Mine feels scared,"_ Even without his sight, Jared could tell that Hunk had pulled up and away. Deciding to focus on his own Lion, Jared closed his eyes, and tried to connect with White more than before. This went on for a while, before Jared felt, something, try to tug at his mind. Just like yesterday, he let the tug take over, and he saw a, white light in front of him and he was almost able to see the ground and-

 _PAIN_

Jared's eyes shot open, feeling a shocking pain radiate through him, and he slammed the controls, smashing into the ground on White's paws. He took a moment to catch his breath, and put his hand on his chest.

" _Well done Jared, you almost had it,"_ Despite Coran's praise, Jared wasn't sure how to feel at the moment. Something had stopped him from bonding with White, and he didn't know what it was.

' _[Growl]'_ At White's mental growl, Jared smiled.

"Thanks girl,"

 _ **Castle of Lions; Training Deck**_

" _The most important part of Paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing; Voltron,"_ Once again, the group was arranged in a circle, with telepathic projectors on their heads. _"Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron. So relax, and open your minds. No walls, no secrets between Paladins"_

Everyone closed their eyes, and began to focus in on themselves. Keith thought of his home, Lance; his family, Shiro; the Galaxy Garrison, Hunk; food, and Jared instantly thought of the White Lion. The only person whose thoughts had yet to be cleared, were Pidge's.

" _Come on everyone, clear everything, now focus on, forming your Lion,"_ Everyone's thoughts, bar Pidge, turned into their respective Lion. _"Bring your Lions together, and form Voltron."_

They moved them forward, with the Lions forming into the components of Voltron.

" _Keep your minds open, work together, good!"_ Everyone waited for Pidge, attempting to keep their concentration for as long as possible. _"Keep focusing. Only one to go!"_

At this point, Keith spoke up.

"Pidge, stop thinking of your girlfriend," The Red Paladins voice broke everyone out of the moment, ending the hologram.

"I wasn't!" Countered Pidge, before looking at Hunk. "Hunk was rooting around in my head."

"I-I thought we were open," Said Hunk. "You can look in my head hole."

Before Jared could classify the weirdness of that statement, Coran interrupted.

 _Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes,"_ He said. You could actually see him throw his arms up through the window. _"Clear your minds!"_

Taking a breath, everyone attempted the exercise once again. This time, everyone immediately formed their own Lion.

" _Good,"_ Said Coran. The team brought the holograms together, and Coran continued. _"Almost there. Now form Voltron."_

Every Lion came together, yet, when Pidge brought the Green Lion in, it was only temporary, as the hologram broke up once again.

"Pidge!" Lance's annoyed call made Pidge lose her cool, and slam the projector on the ground.

"I'm done with this!" She yelled. "Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head."

"Come on, Pidge." Said Shiro. "We're starting to get the hang of this."

Pidge looked down.

"I'm just…I'm just tired, ok?" She replied. Shiro looked contemplative for a moment.

"Ok," He then looked around at the team. "Let's take a break."

Then team relaxed around the room, as Coran came down and handed every member water packs.

"You have been working hard," Said the Altean. "Maybe it's time to relax a little."

 **Swish**

"What are you doing lying around," Everyone looked up at Allura as she walked in the room. "You're supposed to be training!"

"Just resting a bit," Replied Coran, shrugging. "You know you can't push too hard."

"What do you mean, 'can't push too hard'," Countered Allura. Jared narrowed his eyes at her. "Get up you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator."

After a few minutes of grumbling, everyone got in position, and prepared to fight.

" _In order to face the Gladiator, six Paladins must fight as one,"_ Said Coran, once again watching from the top floor. Jared activated his Bayard, and looked around, wondering where the Gladiator would come from.

 **Swish**

Jared looked up, hearing a door open from the roof. Once he did, he saw an android drop down, and land in a crouch. Jared aimed his Bayard at the android, as it ran towards Hunk. The Yellow Paladin fired his own Bayard, but the Gladiator dodged, and the energy blasts hit Jared in the chest, sending him flying back, and Keith was forced to use his shield to avoid the same fate. As Jared recovered, he saw that the Gladiator had already taken down Hunk, electrocuting him with its staff. Pidge then charged it, attempting a swing that the android deflected. As it kept trying to strike Pidge, Jared lined up a shot, and fired. Unfortunately, the Gladiator dodged, and Pidge was hit by the arrow, which turned into a giant net. The force of the hit sent the Green Paladin flying, bouncing off of Hunk's belly.

Then, Lance started firing, but his Bayard's energy bolts were easily deflected, and the Gladiator advanced on him, pushing Lance back. Eventually, the Blue Paladin had his weapon knocked from his hand, and as Keith prepared to hit it, the Gladiator was able to turn around and pre-emptively strike, before catching Lance in the gut, spinning him around, and tossing him into Keith, sending them both into the ground. Jared ran towards the Gladiator as it set its sights on Shiro, hoping the two would be able to tag team it. However, as the Gladiator charged, Shiro froze up, leaving Jared to have to deflect its strike, and kick the android away. The White Paladin turned to his teammate.

"Shiro, what's wrong?" He asked. When he looked at Shiro's eyes, the Black Paladin had a very far off look. "Shir-[Oof]!"

Jared's query was interrupted when the Gladiator hit him in the gut, sending him flying. Rolling in order to lessen the impact, Jared looked up when he stopped. Only to immediately be forced to dodge another strike from the android. Managing to get to his feet, Jared began using his Bayard to catch and redirect the Gladiators staff. Suddenly, the Gladiator dropped down, and Jared saw Shiro flying at him.

" _Quiz_ -" Jared's curse was broken off by Shiro slamming into him, sending them both to the ground. "Ow…"

Suddenly, the android was deactivated, and Jared saw Allura walking up to them.

"That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child!" She said, glaring at them. "You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon."

As she walked away, Jared glared at her slightly.

 _ **Dining Room**_

"Ahoy young Paladins!" As everyone walked into the room, they saw Coran had set out plates for everyone. As everyone sat down, Coran continued. "I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement, and twice on the astral conflux."

"Smells great, Coran, thanks," Said Shiro, Jared, who was next to him, nodding as well. Once everyone had grabbed their cutlery, Jared moved to take a bite, before Coran revealed a remote, and shackles extended from the chairs, binding everyone's hands to the person next to them, Pidge and Jared, however, had one hand remain stuck to their chair, their right and left, respectively.

"Hold the phone!" Lance protested, looking at Coran.

"I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team," Coran then smiled. "So welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day."

Hunk tried to move his arms, causing Lance to move as well, but Shiro's robotic arm was barely moved.

"Coran," Said the Yellow Paladin. "I want you to think about what you're doing."

"Oh, this one's a classic," The older Altean was unperturbed. "You get to feed each other, like a pack of _yalmors_!"

"I hate you right now," Said Jared, glaring annoyingly at Coran. Then, Allura walked in.

"I see Coran has started you last exercise," She said. "Hopefully this will teach you how to actually work together."

As Allura sat down, Jared glared at her once more. She was really starting to annoy him. Everyone tried to feed themselves; but it was taking a while, with Jared and Shiro starting to get a system in place.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," Hunk and Lance weren't getting it down very well, with Lance's hand going in Hunk's mouth on occasion. Then, Hunk reached forward, pulling Lance along, which, in turn, pulled Keith's hand into Lance's food. The Blue Paladin glared at Keith. "Oh, nice, you defiled my food goo!"

"It's your fault!" Replied Keith. "This is ridiculous," As food went flying, Allura growled.

"Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?" She muttered, but not low enough for Jared and Shiro to miss it.

"Can't you just give us a break?" He said. "Everyone's been working really hard today."

"Yeah!" Everyone turned to Keith, at his outburst. "We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like, like…"

"Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" Joined Lance.

"Yes! Thank you, Lance!" Keith thanked the Blue Paladin, while Coran spoke up.

"You do not yell at the Princess!" He admonished. Pidge then joined in.

"Oh the Princess of what?!" She said.

"Exactly!" Joined Jared. "We're the only ones here, and she is certainly no 'Princess' of ours."

 **SPLAT**

Jared's comment had earned him a glob of goo in the face, with everyone staring shocked at both him, and Allura. Then, Keith spoke up.

"Go loose Pidge!" The Red Paladin then grabbed a plate, and swung it at Allura, but Coran was able to intercept the strike, before he flung a ladle full of goo at the entire team, covering everyone in food. Shaking his head of goo, Hunk spoke up.

"Oh, it's on, now," With that, he stuck his face in his plate, gobbled up food, looked back up, and pushed his cheeks in, sending it flying at the two Alteans, covering them food themselves. Groaning, the two grabbed more plates and spatulas, and the first intergalactic food fight began. Many weapons were used; with Keith getting hold of a ladle himself at one point. By the end, everyone was covered from head to toe in miscellaneous green goo. After Allura sat down in a chair, everyone relaxed, before all the Paladins began laughing together.

"Enough!" Everyone looked at Allura when she yelled. "Do you see what you're doing?"

She looked up, and smiled.

"You're finally working together as one!" Jared looked down, realizing what she was saying, as Keith spoke up.

"Hey, she's right," He said. Lance joined in as well.

"I actually don't hate you right now," He replied, gesturing to the Red Paladin.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Asked Hunk. Assuming what it was, Shiro spoke up.

"Let's go form Voltron!"

"Yeah!" Everyone joined in, before Hunk spoke up again.

"Actually I was thinking dessert, but, yeah! Let's do it!" Unfortunately, the Yellow Paladin leaned back too far, causing him to fall backwards. Since everyone was still connected by the wrist, they all fell down.

"Oh, sorry, I'll turn those off," Said Coran, grabbing the same remote he had used to tie the team together.

 _ **Main Control Room**_

After a brief shower, to clean off all the food, the six Paladins were back in the same positions that they had started the day in, with the trip down to their Lions feeling slightly more, natural, this time. Once he had reached his Lion, Jared saw Shiro come up on screen.

" _Everyone ready to do this?"_ He asked. Jared nodded, smiling.

"Definitely," Everyone called out in the affirmative themselves.

" _Roger that!"_

" _It's on!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_

" _I was born ready!"_

" _Then let's go,"_ Said Shiro.

Just like last time, the Paladins were transferred into some sort of pocket dimension, with the Lions mechanically shaping into the different components of Voltron. This time however, Jared noticed that, when the transformation was complete, he was gaining info from the other Lions as well, almost like a sort of radar.

"That should be useful," He muttered. When he looked down, he was shocked at the sheer, size, of Voltron. He could barely see Coran and Allura, despite zooming in on them. "Unbelievable."

 _ **Castle of Lions; Rec Room**_

"Man that was cool!" Jared chuckled at Lance's excitement, the team sitting in various sections of the couch. "I'm so charged up; I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight."

"Not me," Joined Keith. "When my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out. What about you, Jared?"

The White Paladin shrugged.

"I'll probably do the same thing I do every night," He said. Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Which is…" He trailed off. Jared just looked at the Blue Paladin with a secretive smile. Lance glared. Before he could speak up, however, Hunk joined in.

"I just want you to know, that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're brothers, man," The Yellow Paladin pulled Lance, Jared and Keith into a massive bear hug, as he continued. "You know? No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Brothers, all the way. I love you guys."

"G-Forces mess with you head a little bit?" Asked Keith.

"Y-Yeah, maybe a little, I don't know. It's been a tough few days," Replied Hunk.

"Hunk? I can't really breathe right now," Groaned Jared.

"Oh! Sorry," With that the Yellow Paladin released the bear hug, allowing Jared to catch his breath. The rest of the team began to separate towards their own quarters, before Shiro turned to their only female member.

"Going to bed Pidge?" He asked. The Green Paladin shook her head.

"In a minute," She replied. Shiro smiled.

"Good work today," He said. "We're really coming together." As Shiro left, Jared stood back up, and looked at Pidge, seeing her take out a photo.

"Is that you and your brother?" He asked. She nodded. He smiled. "I'm sure we'll find him, and your father. One way or another."

"Thanks Jared," Said Pidge. Giving a half hearted wave, Jared went to his own quarters, but as he reached the door, he felt some kind of, pulse, flow through the air. It felt similar to what he felt in the drone training session. Frowning, he put it in the back of his mind.

' _Something is coming,'_ He thought. _'But what, and, will we be strong enough to stop it.'_

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 **A/N: By the Ancients, this took a while. I wanted to get this out before Season 3, but instead, I barely got it out before Season 4. For anyone who is wondering how Jared's species will work into things, don't worry. I promise to explain it in later chapters. Now, I need to actually work on my Korra one.**

 **Shiro's Song Choice: If I Can Fly.**


End file.
